Panthera leo fossilis
Encyclopedia
Panthera leo fossilis, also known as the Early Middle Pleistocene European cave lion
, is an extinct feline
of the Pleistocene
epoch
. It is generally considered to be an early subspecies of the lion
(Panthera leo).
With a maximum head and body length of 2.40 meters, which is about half a meter longer than today's African lions, Panthera leo fossilis was almost as big as the American lion
from the Upper Pleistocene.
Many bone-fragments of this cat are known from Mosbach in Germany, a small village, which is included in the town Wiesbaden
today. A nearly complete skull was found at Mauer
, near Heidelberg
(Germany). In the same sediment as the lion-skull was a 550,000-year-old lower jaw from the early hominid Homo erectus
heidelbergensis. The oldest records of Panthera leo fossilis in Europe are from Isernia
at Italy and are about 700,000 years old. A 1.75 million- year-old lion-jaw from Olduvai in Kenya shows a striking similarity to those of Europe.
From Panthera leo fossilis derived the Upper Pleistocene European cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea), which is recorded for the first time about 300,000 years ago.
Cave lion
Panthera leo spelaea also known as the European or Eurasian cave lion, is an extinct subspecies of lion known from fossils and many examples of prehistoric art.-Physical characteristics:This subspecies was one of the largest lions...
, is an extinct feline
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch
Epoch (reference date)
In the fields of chronology and periodization, an epoch is an instance in time chosen as the origin of a particular era. The "epoch" then serves as a reference point from which time is measured...
. It is generally considered to be an early subspecies of the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
(Panthera leo).
With a maximum head and body length of 2.40 meters, which is about half a meter longer than today's African lions, Panthera leo fossilis was almost as big as the American lion
American lion
The American lion — also known as the North American lion, Naegele’s giant jaguar or American cave lion — is an extinct lion of the family Felidae, endemic to North America during the Pleistocene epoch , existing for approximately...
from the Upper Pleistocene.
Many bone-fragments of this cat are known from Mosbach in Germany, a small village, which is included in the town Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
today. A nearly complete skull was found at Mauer
Mauer
-Places:*Mauer, Vienna, a former village of Lower Austria that since 1938 has been part of Vienna*Mauer bei Amstetten, a village in the municipality of Amstetten, in Lower Austria...
, near Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
(Germany). In the same sediment as the lion-skull was a 550,000-year-old lower jaw from the early hominid Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
heidelbergensis. The oldest records of Panthera leo fossilis in Europe are from Isernia
Isernia
Isernia Isernia Isernia (Latin: Aesernia or, in Pliny and later writers, Eserninus, or in the Antonine Itinerary, Serni is a town and comune in the central Italian region of Molise, and the capital of Isernia province.- Geography :...
at Italy and are about 700,000 years old. A 1.75 million- year-old lion-jaw from Olduvai in Kenya shows a striking similarity to those of Europe.
From Panthera leo fossilis derived the Upper Pleistocene European cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea), which is recorded for the first time about 300,000 years ago.
Literature
- Ernst Probst: Deutschland in der Urzeit. Orbis Verlag, 1999. ISBN 3-572-01057-8
- J. Burger: Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelea, 2003.Molecular phylogeny of cave lion .